He Has Her
by ForeverErica
Summary: "The End". 6x18. What if Sawyer finally told Kate about what Jack confessed to him back in 1977?
1. Chapter 1

_**Hey guys! This short one-shot is set after Jack, Locke and Desmond leave for the Heart of the Island during 'The End', with Kate, Sawyer, Ben and Hurley waiting in the bamboo grove for them to return. The beginning is heavily based off of a deleted scene between Kate and Sawyer that remains in the Finale script, followed by my version of what happens thereafter.**_

_**This is also a long-awaited request from my good Jater friend Liesbeth (aka Lostbeth). This one is for you, love.**_

* * *

The bamboo forest was left silent once Jack, Locke and Desmond disappeared, intent for the Heart of the Island. Ben and Hurley were somewhere nearby, having taken up their wait elsewhere, leaving Sawyer and Kate alone to their respective thoughts.

Sawyer sat bored, his chin resting into his balled fist, watching Kate pace anxiously nearby, chewing on the nail of her thumb, actually making him slightly motion-sick by how she just wouldn't stop moving. Even in this small circle of grass and bamboo, she refused to be still. In an attempt to break her out of her worried trance, he stood to offer her the last bit of water from his canteen, but she put her hand up, signaling that she didn't want any, placing her hand back around her upper arm, hugging herself with both, pacing another mud hole into the ground.

Sawyer just stood there, defeated, but not willing to give up on her. He thought it better to try to get her to talk about what was bothering her than to try to invade her thoughts. Kate was an enigma in that way. He had to have a strategy if he wanted to get to her secrets. "I know what you're thinkin'."

Kate turned to him, her eyes daring him to elaborate.

"You're thinkin' Jack's gonna get hurt," he looked around, then up at the high bamboo stalks that waved around them and the graying sky above, "and you're wonderin' what you're doin' waitin' in the damn bamboo instead of being with him."

Touched by the fact that he'd just read her mind, Kate lowered her head a bit, a small, sad smile curled her lips. Sawyer was encouraged by her small grin, hoping that she would finally stop and relax now, which was wishful thinking at best. The only way he would know this, Kat thought, was if he was thinking it too.

"That what you're thinking too?" Kate asked, the first time she'd spoken a word since Jack, Locke and Desmond departed, continuing to pace, but keeping his attempt at a conversation going.

"Yep," Sawyer admitted with a grunt while bending his knees to return to his seated position, "but I'm not gonna do anything about it." He drank the rest of the water, and twisted the cap over the opening, his position set in stone.

She finally stopped, shocked by the easy admission, especially after all the tension that existed between him and Jack since Juliet's death. She really wished that he'd stop punishing Jack about Juliet. She knew how much responsibility Jack felt for all of them but it wasn't like he asked for Juliet's help. If Sawyer should blame anyone, he should blame her for bringing them into the situation. They were practically home-free, on the submarine, ready to embark on their life together without the Island's interference and she'd selfishly made them turn around and face yet another impossible situation, one that Juliet didn't return from. She paused on that road of guilt and spoke up.

"Why not?" She asked.

"Because I trust him Freckles." Sawyer looked up at her from his infatuation with the grass, the simplicity of his confession making her smile.

"You don't blame him for Juliet's death anymore?" Kate asked, walking over and sitting next to him, the first time she stopped moving since they got there, invested in his answer. Sawyer could hear the hope in her voice. She really couldn't take him being angry with Jack, could she? He thought with a wry grin. It was sweet.

He shrugged, his eyes returning to the ground. "Blondie made the decision to help him. I can't lay that on Jack, not anymore."

"You should blame me." Kate offered, watching Sawyer turn to her, the shock in his eyes blistering. She looked out into the distance. "I'm the one who dragged you and Juliet back from the sub. I pulled the both of you into this." She bowed her head in shame. "It's not Jack's fault, it's mine."

"No. It's mine, Freckles." Sawyer opened up. "Juliet thought I was still hung up on you, and I can't say I didn't give her a reason to think that. It'd been three years since I saw you, and I don't know, stuff just started coming back up again for me, and being the smart and observant woman she was, she didn't miss it. So, she stormed off to help Jack get to where he needed to go."

He took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "The only reason I got involved was because I love her, and if they were really gonna do it, I wanted my last moments to be with her."

Kate sighed, finding that urge all too familiar. "Sounds a bit like why I agreed to it." She pulled one of her legs up into a bended position against her chest, resting her chin over the mantle of her knee. "Jack looked at me, asked me if I was with him and I could barely move. I just..._melted_."

"Guess some things never change, huh?" He laughed as she slapped at his arm, playfully.

A few moments later, he leaned in her direction; his shoulder teasingly bumped into hers when he noticed that solemn look in her eyes again, her mind wandering back to Jack and the current crisis he was right in the middle of.

"So, why ain't you on board with this latest bizarro plan?"

"Because I refuse to believe that we can't fix things. Jack is really giving up and I never thought he would." Kate mumbled, her eyes never leaving the spot they decided to fixate on. "He took Jacob's job, he's gonna have to live on this Island forever, and I have to get Claire back to Aaron, granted I can even find her in time. I don't want to leave him, I can't, but I can't just abandon my promise to Claire either."

"Maybe you should give him a reason not to." Sawyer advised. Kate looked at him questioningly, not sure what he was saying. "Give up." He elaborated.

Kate shook her head, shrugging in defeat. "How many more hints can I possibly drop, James? I came back to this Island not only to find Claire, but just to be near him. I've set women back a hundred years by following him here and he still doesn't see it."

"What can I say? Jack ain't ever been particularly insightful about these kinds of things." Sawyer offered, with a rueful chuckle. Kate couldn't argue with that, she realized, but she could definitely admit that she hadn't been exactly astute with the details herself.

"Or maybe I don't see that it's really over," she confessed, her voice cracking, "and that I should let him go." She could see from the corner of her eye that Sawyer opened his mouth to argue, but she couldn't hear any more. It was giving her hope that she couldn't believe in.

"He doesn't want to be with me, James." Kate said sternly, with heartbroken certainty. "He's made that abundantly clear. If taking Jacob up on protecting the Island isn't proof enough, I don't know what is."

"Maybe, he thinks you don't want _him_ anymore," Sawyer continued to push, "and that's why he was so quick to take Jacob up on his offer."

"What?" Kate asked, looking at him as if he'd just accused her of the vilest crime imaginable. "That's ridiculous."

"What if it's not?" Sawyer challenged her. "What if Jack made the one move he thought would help him get _you_ back?"

In that moment, the rainstorm that was brewing overhead finally caved, breaking through the sky, soaking their clothes to their skin. Sawyer could see the change in Kate's hardened glare of disbelief through the drops. Her expression softened, into acknowledgement; a revelation had dawned on her. He knew he had done it now.

"You know something." Kate accused him, slowly standing as she did so, the rain now beating against her back as she looked down at Sawyer with squinted eyes, her hooks having caught onto something that she wouldn't easily let go of. Sawyer was never one for listening to her mope about Jack, so his investment in helping her understand his point of view meant that he had _knowledge_ about that point of view, knowledge that she didn't have.

"Jack said something to you." She said it with conviction, as if the evidence was sitting right in front of her.

"Kate, just wait a min—" Sawyer began.

"What was it?" Kate asked, cutting him off, her voice rising.

Sawyer put his hands up in clear defense, scared that Kate would claw it out of him if she had to. "Damnit, Freckles, just calm do—"

"What was it James?!" Kate yelled, a crack of lightning sparked through the sky just then, seconds later the sounds of its thunder reverberated through the wind, punctuating her wrath. Its timing was impeccable, as if she had beckoned it with her rage.

"What did he say, James?" Kate asked, her tone begging, pleading in a way he'd never heard before. "I want you to tell me everything. Don't leave anything out. _Please_."

Sawyer looked up at her, the way her freckles stood out over her now pale, wet skin, how her eyes were filling up, not with tears, but with flooding hope. She looked so lost, her entire world resting on something that Jack never told her, something that he encouraged him to tell her, something that would change how this would end. Not able to take that look of unbridled need in her eyes any longer, Sawyer let it all go, rubbing at his forehead before he did so.

"He told me that you two were together off the Island, and judging from that sad, guilty look in his eyes, _he_ screwed it all up." Sawyer started. "He said that he had you and he lost you and that he was blowing the bomb to fix it. He was devastated Kate. The fact that he lost you made his whole world go belly-up and he was willin' to do anything, even blow us all to Kingdom Come for one more chance to get it right."

"He wants to be with you, Kate, he just doesn't know how after what he did, whatever the hell it is he did."

Kate stumbled back at this information, her eyes darting to and fro, her hand pressing into the skin over her heart. "Oh my God." She looked back at Sawyer, confusion setting in. "Bu—but he wanted to erase us. He said enough of it was misery and that it was the only way to forget it all."

"And you think he was talking about _you_? I guess Jacko ain't the only daft one in this relationship." Sawyer bristled, taking in the offended look Kate shot his way. He rose to his feet.

"Don't you get it, Kate? He's been in love with you from the start, and I actually hated him enough in the beginning to get in the way, just to see him squirm," Sawyer admitted. He walked over to her, placing his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him. "You are the only thing that keeps him going. He wanted another shot, and he didn't think _you_'d give him one, so he went after the only plan he could to get you back, to erase it all and start over. When that didn't work, he took Jacob's job, because—"

"He thinks the Island is the only thing he hasn't ruined." Kate said with a long sigh as she closed her eyes, puzzlement brushing away, leaving her to put all the pieces together that had always been there for her to use to guide her to what was really going on. Her eyes welled up with tears as a laugh caught up with the beauty of her wide smile. _Jack still loved her_. He had been fighting for them this entire time, and he thought he was fighting alone, and when things hadn't gone the way he planned, he washed his hands and was willing to let her go, to stay on the Island, alone, forever. How could this have happened? Why was this happening?

"Wait a minute." Kate said, a thought having dawned on her based on what Sawyer was saying, her eyes suddenly conveying her suspicions, her resentment. "The bomb. You said that Jack was willing to detonate that bomb for another chance with me, right?"

"Yeah." Sawyer said, gulping, seeing where she was going with this, and hoping that she would just bypass that little detail, but with her track record, she wouldn't.

"So, when _exactly_ did you and Jack talk?" Kate asked, her anger boiling over into her tone. Again, Sawyer had done it this time, and he was more sure than ever she wouldn't let him breathe after what he was about to say.

He looked down, avoiding eye contact. "When he gave me five minutes before he dropped the nuke at the Swan station back in 1977."

She broke away from him with a gutted sob, devastated that this had been kept from her for so long, the hurt evident in her eyes. "That was weeks ago! I can't believe you didn't say anything! All that time we've spent in Locke's camp, you knew this and you watched me wallow and still you said nothing!" Sawyer watched what this delayed understanding was doing to her. She was fuming, vibrating with incensed ire.

She approached him again, her index-finger pointing a red-fire hole into his chest, her green eyes like lasers, beaming through his orbits, burning through them. "Were you just using this to punish Jack? Because of Juliet? Did you not want me to know so that he would go on thinking I didn't still love him?"

"No, it wasn't like that!" Sawyer defended himself against her claims, seeing why she would think that after everything he'd done to punish Jack after Juliet's passing, even threatening to kill him at one point, words he didn't mean, words he'd only said out of anger and hurt. Fearing that he'd only added to her panic instead of alleviating it, he added, "I didn't think it was my place to intervene."

"Oh, so now you're suddenly Mr. Respectful?" Kate snapped, feeling apologetic immediately.

She stumbled away again, working to calm herself down, bringing her hands up and running them through her drenched curls and over her face, wiping the wetness there. This wasn't Sawyer's fault, this was Jack's fault, and this was her fault. To say that the lines of communication between them were clear would be a lie. They hadn't even been in the same vicinity for days, her attention on Claire and his on whatever he thought he needed to find, whatever he needed to accomplish, and he'd found it in protecting the Island, but he had no idea that he wasn't just giving the rest of his life to this place, he was giving hers too.

She had to tell him that. He had to know. He had her. He _has_ her. More than he could have ever imagined possible to have someone.

"I have to go to him." Kate walked over, grabbed her rifle from nearby, and marched off, the rain pattering over her head, the jungle so blurred with a thick fog she could barely see in front of her, but that didn't stop her momentum. Sawyer reached out and grabbed her wrist, stopping her in his tracks.

"Kate you can't!" Sawyer yelled over the downpour and thunder blaring through the leaves. "He's goin' into that light with Locke and Desmond, they're probably already down there by now!"

"I don't care, I have to find him before something bad happens!" Kate screamed, fighting Sawyer's grasp with all her might. The ground began to rumble, the tremors building, becoming stronger and stronger, knocking them both into imbalanced positions, but Kate still fought him, her focus not lost in the chaos.

"Let me go before the rain washes away their tracks!" She cried desperately, her fists beating into Sawyer's chest, his hands not yielding at their heavy blows.

"Kate, stop it!" Sawyer barked at her, fighting her attempts to get away from him. "He made his choice to stay here and protect the Island!"

"Not with all the facts!" Kate screeched, her tears mixing in with the drops of rain that hit her face, finally breaking away from Sawyer and running off. Seeing the outcome before she could, he ran, reached for her and pulled her back, the loud and ground-shaking thud knocked him off his feet, his arms still wrapped around her as she fell into him. She finally caught up with what had just happened and peered at the path that she was set to take, now blocked by the splintered trunk of a massive tree. A bolt of lightning must have ripped it in half.

The ground was literally vibrating between each shudder, another setting the jungle into a tailspin. The rumbling put everything on edge, passing under them, preventing them from standing just yet. Something was happening, Kate thought. Jack, Locke and Desmond must have gotten to the Light, but something was wrong. She turned to Sawyer, who was now caked in mud, having broken her fall, and saved her life.

"Thanks!" She screamed as she pulled herself up to stand.

"Don't mention it!" He yelled as he righted himself, getting to his feet soon after her. "Locke was right, this Island is goin' down!"

Not more than a few seconds after they were both upright again, they heard someone yell '_Help!_' from nearby. Sharing a quick, concerned look, Kate and Sawyer ran to inspect. Sawyer came onto the scene first, watching in horror as Ben lay trapped under the fallen bark, in obvious pain, with Hurley desperately trying to lift it and set him free.

"He pushed me out of the way! Help me!" Hurley cried once Sawyer appeared. He immediately jumped into action, running to his side and grabbing what he could to help lift.

"On my count! One!…Two!…Three! Lift!" Sawyer instructed. They simultaneously grunted as they exhausted themselves, their combined strength no match for the trunk's weight. Ben continued to groan in pain.

"It's too damn heavy! There's no way we're gettin' it off him!" Sawyer informed Hurley, who was still trying to do something to help.

"We gotta keep trying!" Hurley yelled, still gripping his hands to the wood, trying to move it.

Sawyer suddenly looked back at the path he'd taken to find them, when he noticed that Kate hadn't come onto the scene yet. A knowing and worried look crossed his face. She had used this as a distraction to get away from him, to find Jack and risk her life in doing so.

"Kate!" Sawyer yelled into the deep, dark jungle, his voice echoing, but even if she heard him, he doubted that she would turn back, not with what she knew.

Nothing would keep her away from Jack now.

Nothing in the world.


	2. Author's Note

Hello readers!

First of all, thank you guys so much for the reviews! WOW! Twenty-three reviews in the span of two days. WHOA. This was supposed to be a simple one-shot that was a fulfillment of a request from a long time ago. I had no idea that it would spark so much interest, although, even while I was writing the last bit, I felt like I HAD to go on. How cruel of me to have Kate disappear in pursuit of Jack and not follow up with that? I saw the potential there, same as all of you, but I never thought anyone would care to read it. Boy, was I wrong!

Fortunately, I will be adding more chapters to this story. I will not go into what I have planned or how many chapters I will add, because I'm not quite sure of the details as I have been outlining where it's possible to go with this, but I think that you guys will love what's coming up.

Now, I do have another story in progress right now, "I Will Come Back Here for You", that I am very invested in. I am in the process of writing Chapter 19 for that story right now (it's getting there, and I'm so excited to post it), so it might be a little while before I update this one, seeing as how, again, it was completely unexpected on my end that anyone would want to read more. So, with that being said, please stick around! I hope that it's worth it for all of you. Thanks again!

Much love to you all!

Erica


	3. Chapter 2

_**Due to popular demand, this one-shot has turned into a venture that will go on for just a little longer. I just want to say that all the characters have to yell over the rain and crumbling of the Island on the show, hence all the exclamation points in this part. I hope that's evident in the writing, because I've never been a big fan of the exclamation point, but it's overuse is necessary here, for dramatic effect of course, LOL.**_

_**I OWN NOTHING (although, I would love to buy and own Jack and Kate), enjoy! ;)**_

* * *

Jack, Locke and Desmond looked down into the Light, the very Heart of the Island. The visual was mesmerizing, surreal almost. The water fell from where they stood, shimmering in the glow of the warm luminance.

"All right we," Locke readied the rope, his eyes still fixated below, the wonder written in his sharp features, "we lower him down nice and easy."

Jack looked at Desmond, trying to get a read on his mood, how he was feeling about this. He looked ready; like he had never been ready for anything more in his life. "You know what to do once you get down there?"

"Aye." Desmond replied, excitement dancing in his eyes. "I go where the light's brightest."

Jack reached out, patted him on the shoulder affectionately, genuine unease in his eyes. "Don't get yourself killed." Desmond smiled in retort, taking in the fact that he was sincere in his worry.

Jack and Locke took their positions, holding fast to the rope as Desmond positioned himself at the edge of the pit. They all worked together, with Desmond stepping down into its opening, while Jack and Locke held tightly to the rope, giving way to it to lower him inch by inch, working with an impressive synchrony.

Locke looked to Jack, who had his back to him, concentrating on the task at hand. "This remind you of anything, Jack?

"What?" Jack asked as he turned his attention, obviously not interested in making small talk, but engaging him nonetheless.

"Desmond, going down into a hole in the ground. If there was a button down there to push, we could fight about whether or not to push it." Locke paused, giving Jack the opportunity to reply, but he went back to focusing his attention of getting Desmond to the bottom safely. "It'd be just like old times."

Jack stopped his actions there, at that disrespectful reference to history that he was in no way a part of, outright manipulating memories to get him to change his mind about protecting the Island. He breathed a sigh of irritation.

"You're not John Locke." Jack snapped, his attitude ringing clearly. He turned back to the Light, but kept talking. "You disrespect his memory by wearing his face, but you're nothing like him. Turns out he was right about most everything. I just wish I could've told him that while he was still alive."

"He wasn't right about _anything_, Jack." Locke shot back, his voice taking on an assured confidence. "And when this island drops into the ocean, and you drop with it, you're finally gonna realize that."

"Well, we'll just have to see which one of us is right, then." Jack replied with spite. As he did so, the rope went completely slack in their tired hands. They both looked down the waterfall.

Moments later, Jack and Locke remained kneeled over the edge, avidly waiting for the result of Desmond's brave descent. The two men sat in tense silence now, the pressure steadily brewing. Then, the bright glow of the Light turned a bloody crimson hue, signaling some kind of transition. Eventually they heard the echoes of Desmond's voice, deep in distress, angry.

"No! No!" His cries rose from the depths to their ears. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong.

Locke's face broke into an arrogant, smug contort. "It looks like," he pointed in Jack's direction, glee etched into his eyes, "you were wrong." Jack continued to look down into the fiery red pit, panic rising up inside of him, disbelief that it was over before it had even really begun. This was supposed to work. Everything was riding on it.

Locke rose to his feet quickly, standing tall in victory, having seen and done all he needed to get what he wanted. He had a boat to catch and not a moment too soon. "Goodbye, Jack."

He made his way to the exit. As soon as he emerged, the ground began to quake. The rain soaked his clothes as he dodged the boulders that were tumbling from the hills above. He looked around him, making sure the coast was clear, checking for anyone else that was stupid enough to try to stop him, but he had too soon forgotten about the man he had just bid farewell, who came bursting through the opening at his back, wrestling him to the ground.

The element of surprise was on Jack's side this time as he sat above Locke. Boiling with rage, he punched him, and was poised to do more damage when he saw blood pooling in his mouth. Frozen at the sight of it, Jack could only stare down at him in shock, the fist he had ready falling to his side. By the look of astonishment in Jack's eyes, Locke knew that something was wrong, and it hadn't dawned on him until he could actually feel the vibrations of the blow ricocheting through his jawbone. Then, he could taste the odd wetness on his tongue, more seeping. Curious, he wiped at his lips to inspect, the red stain of blood traced over his fingertips. They both knew what this meant, the realization coming to them both simultaneously.

At the suffering in his foe's eyes, Jack grinned. "Looks like you were wrong, too."

Before Locke could scheme his next move, Jack had his hands around his neck, trying with all his might to choke the life out of him once and for all. Desperate and panting in agony, Locke reached blindly at his side, picking up a large rock and knocking Jack over the head with it, rendering him unconscious and bleeding in the mud.

Swift on his feet, Locke rose, grabbed his pack and bolted, but not before he looked back at his adversary, who was knocked out cold.

Only then did he scurry away into the adjoining jungle, his chariot awaiting him.

* * *

"Kate!" Sawyer yelled into the jungle, his voice echoing. She was gone, and with what she knew about Jack, she was never coming back. Did she have to be so damn reckless? He asked himself. He was whisked away from his thoughts by Ben's steady whimpering from where he lay trapped, and Hurley's tireless attempt to lift. He was overdoing it, and if he wasn't careful, Ben wouldn't be the only one in serious trouble.

Sawyer moved towards him, pushing him away from his task. "Hurley! Stop! We're not strong enough! We can't get it off him!"

"Are you saying that because you actually believe it, or because it's Ben?" Hurley bit back angrily, the rain in his face making him squint.

"What?" Sawyer asked, offended. What was it with everyone accusing him of the worst? First, Kate and now Hurley?

"He saved my life, Sawyer. I know that he was a terrible person to all of us once, but he's changed! I can't leave him here like this!" Hurley pleaded.

Sawyer was steadily growing impatient, but kept his voice calm and apologetic. "We don't have a choice, Hugo! We gotta get out of here!"

"If I were stuck under this thing, would it really be that easy for you to walk away, to give up?" Hurley challenged him. With that reasoning, Sawyer had been caught red-handed. He could never leave Hurley to die like this, anyone he cared about for that matter, or in any way if there was hope to save them.

"Damnit!" Sawyer relented angrily, looking as exasperated as he felt. "Okay, maybe instead of trying to pick it up, we can roll it off him?" Hurley nodded, following his lead as he positioned himself, his attention taken by the scratchy noise of someone's voice coming from close by.

"Linus, come in!" Sawyer searched for the source of the sound, and eventually laid his eyes on the walkie, drowning in mud nearby. "Linus, come in! Come in!"

"Miles! Is that you?" Sawyer barked into the walkie.

"LaFleur? What the hell is happening?"

"I don't know! Jack, Desmond and Locke went to the Heart of the Island, I think something went wrong! How is the repair coming?"

"Frank is working on the plane right now! Then we're taking off!" Sawyer could hear Miles ask Lapidus how much longer it would take to get the plane in the air. He could barely make out his answer over the static and the rain.

"Get your asses over here! We're leaving in an hour!" He finally heard Miles say, and then there was nothing but static feedback.

An hour? Sawyer thought with panic. How were they supposed to get to the plane within an hour? Kate had ran off after Jack, Ben was trapped, and they still had no idea where Claire was. Could this get any worse? Like clockwork, another tremor rocked through the ground, knocking him off his feet and reminding him that the situation was growing more and more dire by the second.

"Son of a bitch!" Sawyer bristled once he reclaimed his balance. He stepped back over to Hurley, commanding and in no mood to save Ben, but it meant something to his friend, so he would try. "Okay, if we're gonna do this, we gotta do it right now!"

Hurley nodded. Both men went to the same end of the tree's long and heavy bark, taking their positions. "On my count, you push with everything you got. Got it?" Sawyer yelled.

"Yeah!" Hurley waited for his count.

"One! Two! Three!" Sawyer counted down. He and Hurley pushed with their hands and shoulders, giving it everything they had. The trunk began to give way, inching ever so slightly at their efforts. Inspired by this, they combined what little they had left, multiplying it, and were able to completely remove the obstacle. Out of breath and more tired than they thought it possible to be, they collapsed into each other, sharing a smile and laugh, a small moment of celebration until they heard Ben moan again from nearby, cutting the happy moment short.

Sawyer and Hurley kneeled over him. He was losing consciousness about as fast as he was blood. It pooled at the sight of his injuries which was localized to his leg. Sawyer was no doctor, but from what he could gather, Ben's leg was the sight of concern, broken, probably crushed. They weren't going anywhere anytime soon.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the depths of the jungle, Kate whisked through the leaves, hot on what was left of the trail, but she was losing it, its details wafted by the rain. Sawyer must have realized that she was gone by now. He had given her no choice but to evade his grip by running off at the first sign of distraction. She made no apologies.

During her pursuit, out of the blue, another tremble hit, knocking her sideways. She crashed to the ground, landing on her injured side, crying out on impact. Her shoulder now burned with more soreness than before. Blinded by the uncomfortable and debilitating sensation, she lay there for awhile, waiting for the ground to settle. Once it had, she righted herself slowly, in obvious agony, but able to move through it. She had to. What other choice was there? She grabbed her rifle from nearby and kept on her path, feeling the closeness of her destination drawing ever so near.

Seconds later, she crashed into a clearing, turning in every direction to inspect, her eyes searching the scene. The image of Jack knocked out, drowning under the downpour and not at all reactive to the chaos surrounding him as yet another quake set sail, broke her into pieces. Suddenly, the ache in her shoulder wasn't what hurt the most.

She ran to him through the tremor, her heart in her throat, and kneeled by his side, completely wrecked, but grateful to have found him. "Oh my God, Jack!?"

She cupped his face in her hands, but nothing. She was in full-blown panic-mode now as she continued to try to rouse him, but he gave no indication that he was going to wake up, lying lifeless below her worried face. She noticed the sea of blood dripping from the side of his head, the sight of the blow that had rendered him helpless she assumed. She looked around again, completing the puzzle of the scenario. Locke was gone. There was no telling what he'd done to escape Jack's grasp. She searched the rest of him. There were no other wounds or signs of trauma except for the growing knot at his temple, so she continued to shake and prod.

"Jack, please! Don't do this to me!" She cried inconsolably, fearing the worst at this point, her hope evaporating the longer he didn't open his eyes for her, or stir at her pressing.

She turned towards the Heart of the Island, the dark circle that led to it, gaping and eerie. She was still confused about it all, but now she was just angry. This was what had pulled him away from her, like a vortex, sucking his attention and his purpose. She knew that she sounded selfish, but she had always wanted Jack to find what he was seeking, but it hurt her more than words could convey that he thought she no longer loved him, needed him, and that his impetus for wanting to blow the nuke, for accepting what Jacob offered was because he had lost hope in the very prospect of the second chance she had been ready to give him months ago.

A big part of her felt resentment towards Jacob, for offering Jack everything he was looking for before she could get him to see that she had always been looking for _him_ and no one else. He had gotten to him before she could, and that would always be her biggest regret.

During Kate's distraction, Jack's eyes opened, catching the glimpse of her kneeled closely above him, the feel of her hands on him, and then the coughs came. She turned back down to him, a smile lighting her face at the sound of his voice.

"Kate?" He asked through a bout of strangled coughing.

"Jack?" She chimed brightly with a smile, catching the confusion in his eyes immediately as she caressed his face further, rubbing his cheeks against her palms soothingly. The intimacy of the moment wasn't lost on her, the urge to plant her lips over his caught her, but she smothered it.

"What—" He stammered, succumbing to another coughing fit as he rose onto his forearms with Kate still hovered over him, unable and unwilling to give him his personal space. "What are you doing here?"

Before she could answer his question with what she now knew about his intent with the bomb, before those three words could slip from her lips, he shot up in alerted dread, rising to his feet on unsteady legs, abruptly remembering the last few moments before darkness. He held to the side of his head, where Locke had decked him, dizzy as he looked out into the jungle, walking circles around Kate, his eyes darting back and forth between the cracks of the trees, his breathing that of a scolded beast.

He looked over to her, who stood there watching him with what he could only discern as tears in her eyes, or was that just the rain? "Where is he? Where's Locke?"

"I don't know! Your head—" She began to say, still a bit shaken, but was cut off by Jack asking her another question she didn't have the answer to.

"How long was I out?" His hand was still fixed to the side of his head.

"I don't know! I got here and I found you like this!" She admitted with her arms reaching out to catch him if he happened to topple over, which could be any moment now with how his long legs wobbled.

Hastily, and on a sudden flash of recall, Jack ran back into the tunnel that led to the Light. Once he was inside and peering over the edge, an earth-shattering shudder struck, pushing him off-kilter.

"Desmond!" He called down to him. With no answer, his echo reaching back to him, he yanked at the rope, hoping that it would tighten at some point, that it was still tied around Desmond's waist or connected to him somehow, but it wasn't. He yelled again, this time, with more distress than before.

"Desmond!" And still nothing.

He reemerged, Kate standing just where he'd left her. She shouldn't be out here, he thought. If there was _one_ person in this universe he didn't need distracting him from what he needed to do, it was her. If he could put her on that plane right now and push it into the sky himself, just to get her as far away from this danger as possible, he would risk dropping it all, even his pursuit of Locke, to do it. He'd risk anything for it to happen.

Jack paced like a wild animal as he looked out around him, his blood hot with hatred for that vile creature.

"You need to go back!" He called to her over his shoulder, as he began his trek into the jungle.

"I'm going with you!" Kate's stance was clear. She found him, and he was a little banged up, but alive, and that was everything. There was no way she was letting him out of her sight now, as she still held to the burgeoning hope that she could fix it, fix _them_. As long as they both still had a breath in their lungs to breathe, there was hope.

He stopped dead in his tracks at her response, turned and walked up to her with that desperate, pleading, urgent gaze in his eyes, the look that always buckled her resolve, but not this time. There was too much at stake.

"Kate, now is not the time for this!" Jack pushed. "Locke could be getting off this Island right now, and I have to stop him and I can't have you here!"

"I'm not leaving you!" That answer set his jaw into a stubborn clinch, a very common reaction to this woman, who was just as stubborn, if not more so. She had picked the wrong moment to get in his way. He barely had enough left in him to battle Locke, he couldn't fight her too.

She was primed for this argument. It was one he wouldn't win, no matter how obstinate she knew this man to be. He was too stubborn to be scared, but that didn't mean he didn't have her to be scared for him. "He knocked you out cold and if you go after him like this, he'll get the best of you again! He can kill you and I'm no—"

"He can be hurt, Kate!" Jack interrupted her, watching the surprise take shape in her features.

"What?" She asked.

"Whatever Desmond did down there, it changed something. This Island is gonna sink into the ocean, but now Locke can be killed and if I don't go _right now_, he's gonna get away and this will all have been for nothing!"

Kate's mind reeled with this information. Locke could be killed, which completely changed the game. She thought back to when they ran into him before. Spiteful, angry and blinded by both, she had opened fire on him, the bullets bouncing away with no effect. The patronizing way in which he suggested, '_You might wanna save your bullets_' still made her see red, especially after all that he'd done to deserve it, and how he was so confident that he would get away with it.

Oh, she saved her bullets alright, and she still had a few with his name on them.

"Then you're gonna need me!" Kate proposed, greeted with Jack's immediate disapproval.

He shook his head, his hands on his hips in his classic '_Absolutely not_' stance, with his mouth open, poised to argue with her just like he always did about stuff like this. He knew that Kate could hold her own, that was never the issue, but it was always _his_ issue whether or not he could take it if there was the off-chance that she couldn't.

He looked down at her, completely against it. "No. Kate, you—" She stepped into him, seeping into those auburn eyes of his, which were wide with the intent to kill and concern for her safety.

"Do you remember when you were stitching me up on the beach, and I told you that _**we **_had to kill him? That wasn't just something I said in the moment!" Jack opened his mouth again, to tell her that he knew that, but it still didn't change how he felt about this, but she continued.

"I want in on eliminating that evil bastard for good, especially after what he did to Claire, Sayid, Sun and Jin, and what he's trying to do to you!"

Jack just watched her now, giving up on her letting him state his case. Her face was set in the determination to see Locke perish, her eyes bloodthirsty, a rabid verve that always put him in his place shone through. He remembered all too well the moment she spoke of, when she was pouring her pain into his hands as he tended to her gunshot wound, trusting him to soothe it, and showing her hunger for vengeance all the same. His only response was, '_I know_', and he still knew. He would always know.

What drove Kate was the way that she loved, unyieldingly and uncompromisingly, and while he wanted Locke to die because the Island's salvation depended on it, he was right there with her, he understood. The image of Sayid running with the bomb, the vision of Jin telling him to go, to save himself, they stayed with him. He thought back to Claire and how much she'd changed, and the buckling guilt he still harbored about leaving her behind in the first place. They had lost so much, and were probably going to lose more before it was all said and done.

When he thought about it, they would lose each other. He had to stay, and Kate was getting on that plane; he wouldn't rest until she did so.

Swallowing his ever-present macho need to protect her, he knew that if he was going to succeed at this, he needed this woman at his side, and while he still worried about her getting hurt, she wanted this, and would only resist the more he argued against it. She would follow him, and insert herself into the situation no matter how he felt. It was one of the more frustrating, yet endearing qualities about her, one of the myriad of reasons why he loved her so much it hurt to look at her.

"Besides," she continued, driving her pitch home, "I'm the one with the rifle!"

Jack let go of a breathy, succinct laugh. Only she could make that happen in these harrowing circumstances. He shook his head as if to reprimand himself for what he was going to say next, but he didn't have much of a choice. Locke hadn't given him one, and Kate sure as hell wouldn't either.

"If we're gonna do this, we need a plan!"

"I've got one!" Kate retorted at his inverted way of saying that she could come with him. Wow, that fast? He thought to himself, taking in the beauty of her round face. He was impressed with her, always had been.

"Okay!" He said, planting his hand at the swell of her back, and ushering her along with him as he made his start towards the jungle. "Let's go!"


	4. Chapter 3

_**Hope some of you are still around. Even if you're not, I'm enjoying writing this! Hope you enjoy reading it! On to Part 3!**_

* * *

Sawyer and Hurley continued to stare down worriedly at Ben, who was still struggling to maintain consciousness. Sawyer grimaced as he looked over at Hurley, his face presenting a pallid alarm, the sight of all the blood making him nauseous. Sawyer brought a hand to his shoulder, shaking him lightly.

"Don't you dare—" Sawyer demanded.

Hurley took a deep breath, blinking furiously to pull himself together, cutting him short. "Dude, I'm fine! What do we do now?!"

"The hell if I know." Sawyer whispered, panicked. He never thought he would actually care about Ben dying, especially after everything he'd done to hurt them all, but Hurley was right for the most part, he was no longer the manipulative bastard they'd all been played by before, or maybe he was just less so. He found that he actually wanted him to live, he wanted to help him. Quick on his feet, he spoke to Hurley without actually looking at him.

"I need you to go get Jack's pack! It's in the bamboo grove right over there," Sawyer pointed. "We need to apply pressure!"

He rose onto his knees and hovered over Ben's injuries as Hurley departed the scene for the pack. He inspected what he could through the blood, but there was nothing he could see of where it was coming from or the extent of the injury. There wouldn't be any hope for him unless they got off this damn Island, which was becoming a faraway prospect, no matter how close they'd gotten. Miles' announcement kept ringing in his ears. One hour and the clock had started minutes ago, every second counting like a heartbeat, to get to that plane.

"Hang in there, Ben." Sawyer whispered to him softly, watching as his eyes fluttered opened and then closed slowly. He was still in there somewhere, Sawyer thought hopefully, still responsive, but how much more blood could he lose until he wasn't? He didn't want to find out.

Hurley hustled through the bamboo, appearing with Jack's pack. He handed it to Sawyer, who quickly rummaged through it to find a dark-colored shirt. He immediately bundled it up and applied it to the mess of blood, hoping to stop the bleeding before it became even more fatal than it already was. The ground quaked again, the shudders coming closer and closer together. Sawyer and Hurley held to each other and shielded Ben as best they could. Once it was over, Sawyer's patience was done.

"Here, hold this!" He yelled at Hurley, who moved his hands to reapply the pressure once Sawyer moved away. It was working, he noticed, the blood loss was stopping, but Ben was nowhere near out of the woods. If anything, they were buying him what little time they could.

Hurley watched as Sawyer rose to his feet, checking his weapon for bullets, readying the handgun for action as he gripped it in his fist, so frustrated with the constant danger and fighting for his life all the time that he was about to snap. He was tired, wet, cold and worried sick about Jack and Kate. If she found him, that wasn't the end of the story. They were still in danger. Locke was a crafty one, slippery and underhanded, and worst of all, there was no way to kill the son of a bitch, unless that had changed with whatever was happening to the Island.

"I'll be right back!" Sawyer said right before he stormed off through the bamboo stalks. He wasn't going to lose anyone else because of this hellhole. Not one more person who meant something to him would die here.

Hurley spoke up in surprise. "Whoa, whoa! Where are you going?!"

A bolt of lightning cracked through the clouds then, the end-of-the-world type weather ringing through the torrid air, echoing into the darkness. Sawyer didn't even turn as he spoke, his feet still pushing him in the direction he knew Kate had gone.

"To find our friends! We need to get the hell off this rock and I ain't leavin' 'em behind!"

* * *

The heavy rain ran down Locke's back as he stood at the cliff's edge, a ladder tilted in front of him, secured on the rocks below. The Elizabeth sat off shore, anchored, shifting within the winds and the tides of the stormy waters. He grinned at its beauty in the near distance; it was his ticket to freedom, finally. He waited a second or so before he moved to descend the ladder's steps, and then he heard it, his name being yelled with murderous urgency.

"Locke!" He turned and there Jack stood, tall and wild at the other corner of the cliff's unleveled embankment, unaffected by the rain blowing in his face. His features set in a clinch of hatred, his fists balled up at his sides.

The grin Locke once wore was now a scathing frown. Why wouldn't he just give up already? Locke knew what he had to do. If he was ever getting off this Island, he would have to kill Jack, not merely flee from him. That would make the cheery on top of his triumph, not only destroying the Island, but killing the one person Jacob set out to find to protect it once his imminent death was realized, once that loophole was no longer his security, but his finality. With that lethal thought, he stared through the narrow slits of his eyelids, teeth grinding, and grabbed the handle of his hunting knife, quickly releasing it from the holster at his waist.

Jack watched him from where he stood, the downpour between them not strong enough to wash away the intense focus each held for the other. The challenge was set as Locke wielded his weapon of choice. Jack grinned, for he had no clue that he had a secret weapon of his own, more cunning and powerful than any other.

Locke moved first, running up the slick incline as Jack started downward. Once they were within a few feet of each other, Jack jumped, his fist landing over Locke's jaw, sending him tumbling to the ground, having lost the knife that was clinched between his fingers. He was back on his feet within seconds, charging towards Jack again, whose fist connected for a second time.

Finding that he vastly underestimated his adversary, Locke caught his bearings as he tore his backpack away from his shoulders in frustration and anger. He ran towards Jack again, who met him with a backhanded blow. Monopolizing on his advantage, Jack brought his arm around Locke's neck from behind, squeezing with all his might. The painful drive of the back of Locke's head connected with his nose, sending him toppling backwards.

Locke quickly turned, landing punches to Jack's abdomen and jaw, but as swiftly as the tides had turned, they were back to square one as the cliffs shook, propelling Locke to prioritize as he fought to keep his balance. The knife shifted with the rocks, moving even further down the plane of the cliffs towards the edge. The sound it made as it tumbled and vibrated about caught their undivided attention with equal rapture. Sensing the other's play, Locke launched for it just as Jack started for him, sprinting to tackle him to the ground before he could reach his goal.

Jack turned him over, straddling him, just as he had before, and brought his hands around his neck, squeezing as hard as he could, watching as the color drained from his wet face and the panic filled his eyes. Locke continued to reach for the knife in his struggle, but it was too far from his grasp. Desperate, he threw a punch that Jack instinctively blocked, increasing his hold on his neck, squeezing with all his might. In the midst of it all, the ground trembled again, the edges of the cliffs breaking away violently to the waters below, the knife moving even further away from Locke's frantic fingers.

A cheap shot to the ribs forced Jack to let his grip on Locke's neck slide, as he kneeled to the side. A knee to the face had done him in, falling onto his back as Locke stood tall over him.

The Island was going under faster than either man could best the other, the aftershocks strong and undiscouraged. Locke positioned himself over Jack, who was struggling to breathe, to maintain a hold on consciousness. Griping his soaked shirt in his fist, Locke dragged him closer and threw a striking blow to his face. He watched as Jack groaned in pain, wincing at the merciless impact. Locke grabbed his shirt again and repeated the action, over and over, until blood pooled within Jack's mouth. He coughed it up, his breathing labored and ragged, but Locke wasn't done with him yet. He would punch this determination right out of him, until he begged him to stop, and then he'd keep going until there was nothing left. He threw one last punch, watching as his adversary collapsed in a loud grunt, completely exhausted, unconscious by the looks of it.

"I want you to know Jack," Locke said while he rose, walked over to retrieve the knife and returned to his position over Jack's motionless body. He slowly brought the knife over his head, both hands holding it as he readied himself to plunge it straight through Jack's heart. He took a few more seconds to savor the moment, etching every detail into his memory, from the sound of the cliffs crumbling nearby, to the rainstorm climaxing over his head, and finally, Jack, motionless, vulnerable, defeated. He finished his thought, thick with malice.

"That you died for nothing!" Before he could exact his plan, a shot rang out, echoing through the humid air. Locke froze, his eyes bulging, his forehead creasing with confusion. He dropped the knife, blinking furiously before looking down, discovering the bloody hole at the center of his chest. He looked up, and saw a figure through the downpour, her grey t-shirt and faded blue jeans blurry through the rain, but the vision growing clearer as she stepped forward.

Kate stood firm, rifle in both hands, her face molded with stoned spite. "Good thing I saved my bullets!" She seethed, her voice amplified by cracks of thunder.

Another shot rang out, the bullet crashing into his chest again, this time more strategically through his left lung, the momentum of the blast pushing him onto his back. He yelled in pain, and shifted onto his stomach at a snail's pace, crawling with what vigor he had left towards the ladder that led to freedom, but found that he was too injured to go on. In fact, he was sure that he was dying as blood began to spill from his mouth copiously, and his breathing began to pan out, short bursts of air was all he could take in or give out.

"Nooooooo!" He screamed, the echoes of his ferocious howl meeting the stormy sea with abandon.

Nearby, Jack had finally shaken himself out of his semi-conscious state, gotten his bearings and stumbled to his feet, signaling for Kate to stand down. He stumbled to the edge and stood over Locke, who was struggling to get on his hands and knees, still reaching for the ladder with a trembling, blood-soaked hand. Jack kicked the ladder away from his grasp, causing him to stumble to the ground again, his condition excruciatingly real as he cried out in agony.

He finally managed to get to his knees again, shaking and coughing as he did so. He looked up at Jack, blood running down his chin, raindrops peppered over his bald head. He laughed scornfully between coughs.

"You're too late." He whispered, his voice scratchy and fading into nothingness, but the smug satisfaction seeping through.

Jack shook his head, his features fixed with the ache of his injuries, but mingling with disdain. He rose his foot and kicked Locke over the edge, watching as his body tumbled over the sharp contours of the mountainside, to finally cease in a heap of broken bones on the rocks below.

He took in the view of it, committed it to memory, before he stepped back and turned, walking up the rocks again, until the exhaustion gave way, bending him to his knees. His head hung low, his entire body ready to fold in on itself. Seconds later, he felt her hands firmly land on both of his shoulders. He looked up through squinted, tired eyes and visibly sighed. The rain had stopped then, the clouds moving out and bright blue sky held the blinding sun, warming everything in its path.

"You okay?" She asked.

He gave her a half-cocked smile, a small laugh escaping. "Never better."

She caressed his battered face with her palms, wincing at the sight of the black and blue bruises that Locke had left behind. He looked like he'd been through hell, but the grin that stretched across his face was infectious as she found herself smiling down at him. They did it. It was over.

"You just had to get a piece of him, didn't you?" She laughed, half-teasingly, but scolding him at the same time.

He laughed at the disapproval in her tone. He knew that she was biting back the Riot Act about what he'd done, and how far he came to actually letting Locke get the best of him. If their plan had a chance in hell of working, Locke had to believe that he won, that he could spend those seconds just basking in the glory of it. His hubris was their way in. If Kate had shown up a second sooner, he would have found a way to escape, but the distraction, the illusion of victory was the only way to catch him off guard. It was risky, but it worked.

Their eyes met, and the entire world fell away, the smirk on Jack's face fading into a gravitating appreciation and unbridled love for this woman. She was right; he couldn't have killed Locke without her. He wouldn't have had the strength to do much of what was asked of him so early on without her. Kate could read the emotion in his features, deciphering deftly what he was conveying without words, her hands still cupping the sides of his face, wiping the blood from his brow. What was postponed, what she tried to tell him in the jungle, had come back to her, the present crisis over, and the moment wide open for what she needed to tell him.

"Jack! Kate!" They heard someone yell from behind them, the moment broken. They turned simultaneously to watch as Sawyer ran down the rocks, gun in hand, soaking wet. He noticed the blood everywhere, the sight of Jack's bruised face had set him off, distress and panic written in his features.

"What the hell happened?" Sawyer asked. "Where's Locke?"

Jack looked to the cliff's boundary and back to Sawyer. "He's dead." He said as he held to Kate as she helped him up.

"Hallelujah." Sawyer mumbled to himself, moving quickly to help Jack to his feet.

As soon as he was balanced on his own, the cliffs shook again. Sawyer stumbled back, while Jack and Kate held to one another, keeping steady in each other's arms. It lasted longer than the others, the rocks eroding and shedding away again, and the uproarious splash of the ocean below signaling that the Island was giving way more and more. Eventually, it stopped.

"It's getting worse." Kate said to Jack, who still had his arms wrapped around her.

Sawyer stepped towards them, his tone pressing. "Doc, Ben's in trouble. He got hurt out in the jungle and he ain't gonna make it unless you come now and take a look at him."

Jack, regretful but convinced of his decision, shook his head. "I can't."

Kate looked up at him, dismayed by his answer. "What? Why?"

He looked down at her. "Desmond. He's still down there, in the Heart of the Island. I gotta get him out, I gotta stop this." He could see the worry building in her eyes, because she thought they just had, together, but he had to do this job alone, and he knew that wasn't going to go over well with her.

He turned to Sawyer. "Whatever he turned off, I need to turn it back on."

He looked back down at Kate again, her face pleading, ready to reject every word he said next. "You should go with Sawyer back into the jungle, and wait for me there."

"Jack—", Kate stressed, ready to argue, but was interrupted by his hand gently caressing the side of her face and the mesmerizing depth of his eyes as he stared into hers with a concentration that said all it needed to, forcing her to hear him loud and clear.

"I'll be right behind you." He assured her, his face mere centimeters from hers, and inching closer, but not as a move to kiss her, but to show her that he had no intentions of disappearing on her.

He felt like she needed that now, especially with how scared she was before, finding him in the jungle, somewhat unconscious and unresponsive. While he was out of it after Locke decked him to escape, he could faintly make out her pleading for him to wake up, desperately trying to reach him, her fists beating into his chest. She had come to get him, to save him, even though she knew it was dangerous. Hope burgeoned inside of him, but he was too sick with grief to believe in it, to understand how she could still come for him.

Sawyer turned his head to the ocean, suddenly feeling like he was peering into a private, intimate moment between them, his presence dissolving amid their absorption of each other.

"Come on, Freckles. Let's go." He looked at them out of the corner of his eye as he started towards where he'd come.

Kate, after a beat, reluctantly broke away from Jack, their eyes fixed in a powerful gaze as she backed away and finally turned to follow Sawyer up the rocks. Jack watched until they disappeared from view.

He then turned back to the cliff, taking a second to take it all in, to really let it sink into reality, but his mind couldn't stop fumbling over the internal shift he couldn't shake. He felt different, not like he had after Jacob had passed down the load of his life's work, but a _new_ different. Something happened. Killing Locke, _no_, the creature that had spent centuries trying to leave, had altered something, but he wasn't quite sure what.

He didn't have time to understand it. Desmond and Ben needed his help, but the Island was first in line. Shaking the thoughts out of his mind, he started up the incline of the rocks, hot on the trail that led to the Heart of the Island.

* * *

Hurley kept the pressure steady and consistent, hovering over Ben in a persistent vigil, becoming even more emotional about what happened and how it might cost him his life. He couldn't think about that, he wouldn't go there. He had to live. He couldn't imagine going on knowing that someone paid with their life for his. He wasn't strong enough to survive that kind of grief, guilt.

"I don't know why you did it, but thank you." Hurley said, tears in his eyes, his voice cracking with emotion. Ben was still unresponsive.

In the silence, the rustling of footsteps nearby caught Hurley's ears, he turned, relieved to see Sawyer and Kate emerging from the stalks, but immediately took notice that Jack wasn't with them.

"Where's Jack?" Hurley asked, trying to prepare himself for the worst possible news, but could still feel more tears building.

"He's right behind us. He just had to go get Desmond and stop whatever's happening." Kate assured him.

"And Locke?" Hurley asked.

"He ain't comin' back." Sawyer said as he kneeled next to Hurley, his eyes walking over Ben's face. He was pale, ghostly, his lips chaffing."How's he doin'?"

"The pressure is slowing the blood loss. I don't know how much more—"

The unceremonious jolt of the ground caused Hurley to propel forward, falling onto his chest. Sawyer and Kate followed suit, toppling over and holding on through the shudder. A piercing grinding sound sliced through the leaves, forcing them to cover their ears, wincing through the unsettling resonance. The sky then bled a bright, blinding white light, building in intensity, its path bleaching everything out of view. Suddenly, the vibrations had stopped mid-course, just as jarringly abrupt as they had started, the sky returned to normal, and the jungle went quiet, a bit too quiet.

Sawyer, Hurley and Kate slowly uncovered their ears and opened their eyes, the sensory overload startling and unsettling. They gave themselves a second or two to absorb what just happened, before looking at each other curiously, the question obvious, verbalizing it completely unnecessary.

"Well, that was different." Hurley said.

Sawyer looked over at him with a signal of agreement. "I'm guessin' Jack did his business."

"He should be here by now." Kate said, rising to her feet on wobbly legs, itching to jump back into the jungle, to do something. Sawyer could sense a fresh panic attack rising, and stood to quash it.

"Hey. We don't know exactly what he has to do down there and how long it'll take him. And besides, he said stay put." Sawyer said, but Kate wasn't sold, eyeing him impatiently.

"What? You gonna make me say '_please_'?" He half-joked, irritated and desperate for her not to disappear behind his back again. He could tell that she wasn't amused, but before she could respond, the sound of footsteps nearby caught their attention.

All three of them turned to watch as Jack emerged through the bamboo, both his arms wrapped around Desmond, who was sluggish, barely conscious and holding himself upright with one loose arm around Jack's shoulders. Kate sprung into action by putting Desmond's other arm around her shoulders, helping Jack to carry him the rest of the way. They lowered him down to the ground, sitting him up against a large rock, and once Jack was free, he went to inspect Ben's injuries. Kate kept her attention on Desmond, who looked almost as worse off as Ben.

It only took Jack a few short seconds to realize the degree of the damage and shook his head, with a shallow breath of defeat. He looked up at Hurley and Sawyer. "There's nothing I can do, not without medical supplies, something to—" Jack was interrupted by Ben, who mumbled incoherently.

Jack positioned himself closer to hear, hovering over him. "The barracks…" Was all he could manage to say, barely above a whisper, his voice raspy, too weak to explain any further. Jack continued to lean over him, confused with how the barracks would help anything.

Sawyer spoke up, the realization hitting him. "He's right."

Jack, Kate and Hurley looked to him for clarification. "The last time I was at the barracks, before Locke persuaded me to join him and his band of merry men, the medical station was still standin'. I don't know what's left inside, but there's gotta be somethin' you can do there."

Before Jack could respond, the walkie intercepted, Miles' voice coming through loudly and impatiently. "Jim, where the hell are you?"

Jack motioned for the walkie, and once Sawyer passed it over to him, he spoke into the speaker, loud enough for him to hear. "Miles, it's Jack. Locke's dead, and the Island is fine, it's not going anywhere. I've got two injured men here; one is bleeding out pretty bad. I'm gonna need some time to patch them up."

Jack eyed Sawyer, his voice lower, but no less urgent. "How far are the barracks from here?"

"About an hour trek, give or take." Sawyer informed him.

Jack returned to the walkie. "How much longer does Frank need to fix the plane?"

They could all hear Miles asking Frank how much more time he needed. "About two hours, maybe more." Miles said.

"Well, he's got it and then some. We're headed to the barracks; the medical station is still there. We'll be in touch." Jack turned the walkie back over to Sawyer before Miles could respond.

He stood, his mind trying to settle on a plan of action. There were four of them and two who needed to be carried to the barracks, which was quite a distance away. Ben was in a graver situation than Desmond, which meant that he wouldn't be able to contribute anything to the trek, and he needed to keep that leg steady, but without a gurney, they would have to get creative, and move pretty fast. He suspected that Desmond had a few broken ribs, but nothing that wouldn't stop him from moving his legs at least. He finally settled on a how they would do this.

"Sawyer, you and I can carry Ben, while Kate and Hurley help Desmond."

Sawyer nodded. "You got it." Kate and Hurley signaled their agreement with simultaneous nods.

"Alright then, let's go." Jack said.

They all moved, picking up what they needed. Jack took the bloody shirt, tied it in a bow around Ben's thigh, and with Sawyer's help, carefully lifted him, with Jack instructing him about the leg and keeping it as elevated as he could. Kate and Hurley pulled Desmond to his feet, pitching his arms over their shoulders. They met the bordering jungle, heading for the barracks, hoping for relief there.


End file.
